Hamilton will not change management

F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone has slammed Lewis Hamilton's management switch as a 'disaster', but the McLaren driver is expected to stay with XIX Entertainment for 2012.

Ecclestone made the claims during an interview with the Guardian newspaper.

Hamilton suffered his worst season since he made his F1 debut in 2007. He was regularly called to the race stewards after Grand Prix's, was consistently awarded race penalties following on track collisions and was eventually beaten by team-mate Jenson Button in the F1 World Championship by 43 points.

The 2008 Formula One World Champion has openly admitted that his on track performances have been affected by problems in his private life, including the break-up of his four-year relationship with girlfriend Nicole Scherzinger and some in the media believe there is a direct connection between that and his engagement team, XIX Entertainment.

The 26-year-old had previously been managed by father Anthony Hamilton and many people in the media and in the paddock, believe that Lewis Hamilton needs to recreate that winning formula and drop XIX Entertainment, who are better suited to other clients such as David and Victoria Beckham, Jennifer Lopez and other pop stars.

That view is shared by Ecclestone: 'I think he had some personal problems during the year which affected him quite a lot. A lot to do with these things, it depends an awful lot on the people you surround yourself with, and who are in a position to influence you. I think he just fell into a lot of people that I think weren't good for him. When his dad was looking after him, his dad was a bit more … obviously it didn't suit Lewis, which was why they split, I think he didn't appreciate how much help his dad was.'

Discussing Hamilton's link-up with Simon Fuller's XIX Entertainment he added: 'I think it's a disaster, He gets to meet people that probably he wouldn't have met, and [who] have probably the wrong sort of influence on him. He's at the age, perhaps, and he has the amount of money, where when he's influenced, he can carry things through, which he wouldn't normally have done.'

However despite the criticism he has received over his controversial management set-up the Daily Mail newspaper have reported this week that Hamilton has no intention of changing the direction of his management.